Guitar Quotes Life Lesson 1:It takes a whole lot of guts to face realityIn 2001, a British TV producer called Simon Fuller had a bright idea: Let’s have people line up in queues, feed them bite-sized packages of hope about possible stardom and then record them singing in front of experts. It’s a recipe for either showmanship or disaster, with weeping, glee and drama at the forefront.

I also recommend you have a look at my article of Music Education Benefits, which lists the top-ten benefits of learning any musical instrument.

"It's my experience that in the end, life lessons and guitar lessons begin to blur in all sorts of interesting ways.”- Brad Paisley, Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter.

The ‘Idols’ series was born and has spawned dozens of spin-offs, a handful of now-famous singers, and thousands of hilarious YouTube clips.

Tears and theatrics aside, what really forces you to think is not the fact that most of the contestant absolutely definitely cannot sing. Nor should it be strange when the judges promptly inform these hopeful individuals that they most certainly cannot sing. What’s really surprising is how surprised they are when they are told they cannot sing!

I wonder at this and ask: “How can this be?” How is it that otherwise seemingly normal people have for years and years believed that they truly are amazing performers, only to come face-to-face with professional reality and then promptly fight and cry, or take flight and deny? I understand that Grandma believes you can sing; she always does. Maybe even Mom and Dad coddled a bit too much and fed you inflated lies about your non-abilities. But surely reality must have seeped in somewhere over the years?

I have this habit that I started a few years ago, it involves me, a notebook, a pen and a sleeping mat in a very quiet and isolated place. It entails getting quiet for an extended period of time, which can actually be quite scary in the modern world. I then ask and answer one simple question, which is this: “Does the path I’m on, lead to a place I want to go?”

Not exactly mind-blowing you might think. True, but it does help a lot with getting rid of the fluff. It’s a nice ‘fog-cutting’ question, since you’re forced to focus on where you REALLY are (without an iPhone to reinterpret the data) where you REALLY are going (without any browser tabs flashing orange, trying to tell a different story), and what you REALLY should and shouldn’t be doing with your life.

By the way, I’m not an anti-tech kind of guy. I love technology and in many ways am extremely dependent on it for my livelihood and well-being. So I’m not advocating the mass shredding of gadgets. I am however wondering whether we do not too easily tend to mix up virtual achievements with real achievements, and high scores with high value.

Like Sir McCartney’s grandkids in the quote above, we’re happily tapping away at a plastic guitar, thinking that we’re making music, when in fact we can’t hold a tune. We’re standing in line with a hundred other hopefuls convinced that we’re amazing at performing, when in fact we haven’t discovered our true gifting, faced up to our true shortcomings and then - once this possibly gut-wrenching process is done - aligned ourselves accordingly.

Guitar Quotes Life Lesson 2:Maturity is the balance between Sensitivity and CourageExhibit A is the rebel rocker prototype. Young, cocky and care-me-not, his face is lined with expressions of deep cynicism. His tattoos, his T-shirts and his body language all scream an ineloquent F*U to society at large. He doesn't care what you think, and makes this crystal clear through his choice of words, movements and lyrics. He just simply. doesn't. care.

Exhibit B is the alien prototype. Green, gooey, and slug-like with his 7 eyes and seventeen hands. He’s never been to earth, but is an expert in human behavior (just to make this analogy work, you understand).

Now let's pretend that Exhibit B has a chance encounter with Exhibit A. Our green alien observes our angry rocker for a few days and makes some deductions. What word do you think he would choose to summarize his subject? Maybe 'nonconformist'. Perhaps 'distrustful'. Maybe 'maverick' or 'resentful’. The one word he most certainly would not choose would be 'mature'. Why exactly? I'm coming to that...

Because Exhibit C is on the other end of the spectrum and deserves a chance at analysis as well! You see his entire existence, actions and choices are built for the planting and increasing of one thing: Approval. There is nothing that shakes him to the core as when people around him disagree, disavow or distance themselves from his decisions. He hungers after acceptance and would always choose the path of least resistance, of least offence and of least friction - as long as folks like him.

What word do you think our little alien would choose for this fella? I can guess that 'insecure', 'vulnerable' and 'irresolute' could top the list. But again, 'maturity' will likely not make the cut.

By now you're probably wondering what any of this, extraterrestrial exhibits included, has to do with U2's lead singer. Surely I'm not suggesting that Bono is like the cynical rocker wannabe or the living diary of the wimpy kid?! No I'm not, I am however suggesting that he is a good candidate for someone who's found the balance between the two extremes, and is, as his quote might indicate, mature.

Maturity is not, on the one hand, carelessness to the point of constant and senseless rebellion towards anyone and everything in authority - that's closer to childishness. Such a person needs more sensitivity towards others and self.

Nor is maturity to be found in constant approval seeking that's rooted in such deep emotional insecurity that someone ends up living no life at all, because he's constantly running after acceptance by others. Such a person needs more 'carelessness' (or courage).

I imagine the day, many years ago when Bono heard the 'advice' he mentions in the quote above (which now seems utterly ridiculous). I imagine him taking the emotional blows and wondering about it, not knowing that years later his name and talent would be on the lips of millions. Had he been overly sensitive he would have bended and cracked, robbing us of his gift. Had he been overtly careless he would likely have burnt out (rather than fade out) as so many others, equally talented but consumed by their anger and rebellion, have done. I'm seriously glad he ended up being more mature than that.

Guitar Quotes Life Lesson 3:You can determine the calibre of a person by the amount of opposition it takes to discourage him/her.Springsteen's quote is in grave danger of possibly being my favorite. He wrote it in his official autobiography and also admitted that the only guitar brand that existed in his father's universe was the G*d Damn kind (since his father always screamed at him to turn down that G*d Damn guitar).

The other line, the life lesson itself (above in red), is also a quote from an anonymous wise man which has carried many a person like me, through some tough times and intense opposition at different stages in life. The easiest thing to say about opposition is that it sucks. Everyone likes and wants approval and acceptance, even (or especially) those that pretend they don't. So opposition sucks, and it's tough to face. But opposition from those very close to you is another thing all together.

The reality of life, the unfairness that sometimes shines through, is that frequently the very people that you want to understand and encourage you in your gifting, calling and ideas, will not. I'm not really sure why, but I know that many people react to that kind of viciously: "If they don't like and approve, then screw 'em, all of 'em - who needs 'em?" (See point 2 above for why I think that's not the best response to said situation)

I don't know how exactly Springsteen reacted to his father's less-than-accepting attitude (though I bet dad felt different once the millions started rollin' in), but I do know that The Boss' experience is not unique. You too, if you have any ambition, or desire to grow and improve, will experience opposition in life.

Rarely will everyone around you encourage and support you in your ideas, dreams and plans. In fact, the only man who's sure that everyone agrees with his life-work is the ice-cream man. For those of us selling non-gelato products, opposition in its various forms and colors is a given, and it really helps to be aware of that - to expect that.

To not be super surprised when people frown as you explain your future - to be ready to face the naysayers. To have the maturity to learn from them and face up to the facts that they throw before you, especially when you've overlooked said fact, but to not let their words of discouragement cripple and paralyze you.

Someone once said that opposition and ridicule are "paper bullets for the brain" and that "those who can stand bravely when they are shot at will sometimes collapse when they are laughed at." It takes greatness of character and strength of virtue to be able to persist when people around you think you silly. With time, you learn to grow a ‘rhinoceros skin’ of just the right thickness that will enable you to ignore unfair criticism, without becomes calloused yourself.

Guitar Quotes Life Lesson 4:Popular Opinion is usually temporary and irrelevantDuring the late 90’s, Ian Richie, who was an experienced software engineer, met a nice young man called Tim Berners-Lee at a computer fair in Paris. Mr. Berners-Lee was promoting a computer-matrix system that he was developing to enable users of linked computers to access hypertext, all using a standard protocol.

Ian Richie turned down the idea, thinking it too pretentious, and forever went down in history as the man who rejected a business model called: The Internet. He’s pretty relaxed about it these days, and laughs at his own mistake. He is, as the above quote by Decca Records proves, not the first to predict wrongly.

“A rocket will never be able to leave the Earth's atmosphere.” “There's no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share.” “There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home.” These are actual quotes by well-meaning individuals who were sincerely wrong and frequently represented the popular opinion of the times. Looking back, I think it’s safe to say that popular opinion has certainly changed!

Another way to think of it: Many of the things that you consider normal and acceptable would have seemed absurd or offensive four generations ago. Similarly, many of the things that you now consider strange or uncomfortable, might be perfectly normal one day to the society of your great-grandchildren. They’ll look back at you, grandpa, as the weirdo! Popular opinion seems to come, go, shift and change with the winds of time. It’s subject to the whims of culture and society which is why it’s not always a great standard on which to measure and base important decisions.

Now I’m not saying that you should totally reject well-meaning popular advice, but it does take some courage to be willing to swim upstream and be deliberately different. Many of the artists quoted on this page pioneered musical movements that initially were not received by the popular masses, but today are mainstream. Why? Because popular opinion changes and outstanding people Stand Out. Initially, they stand out because they’re different. Then later because their uniqueness, and pioneering work, is recognized.

Guitar Quotes Life Lesson 5:Living within self-imposed boundaries bring incredible freedomYou might know Slash for his shredding abilities, his curls, his peculiar headwear, and of course the intro riff for "Sweet Child 'O Mine" (which was written in five minutes). What's lesser known about this brilliant guitarist is that Saul Hudson (his real name) was a pretty extravagant spender, in every way.

He spent a lot of money, a lot of drugs and a lot of woman. He today admits that Guns 'n Roses never made serious cash with touring since they spent it all on ridiculously lavish parties. He also confesses to regularly (back in the 80's) having up to four women in different hotel rooms on his floor, ready for duty. And then of course, he nearly died of heart failure at age 35 due to prolonged substance abuse.

As depressing as a country song, but for a guy with that background to now restrict himself to one fancy car (well… it IS an Aston Martin, but still…) - it’s pretty interesting, to say the least. Slash does not seem like a boundary kind of guy, the kind that would willingly limit himself, and yet, you can’t help gleaning from his more recent interviews that this is the case today. Perhaps he’s found, like many others who have indulged to the extreme, that boundaries aren’t all bad…

Most people love freedom. We’re not fans of having it restricted, right? We idolize personal autonomy which means we simply want the freedom to do anything at any time without having anyone else imposing on it. This however, is not almost the smartest way to look at freedom.

Here's a little quiz: I will present to you three different types of people who all have something in common, see if you can spot it...

(1) Someone who's had his car impounded and licence revoked because he felt like consistently travelling over the speed limit.(2) Someone who's in jail because he feel like not paying taxes and proceeded to do just that.(3) Someone who's addicted to cocaine because he felt, a few months ago, like trying it out.

Can you spot the common denominator? These are three stereotypical examples of people who, at present, experience severely restricted freedom (in movement, in living space, and in ability) because they acted on impulses that proved harmful over the long run.

So it seems that fooling yourself into believing that you have all the freedom in the world, to do whatever the heck you want and to-hell with everyone else, often leads to a place where you REALLY have no freedom. These examples above (that you probably heard in middle-school), is just a few of many where that exact thing will happen to individuals living without boundaries.

Guitar Quotes Life Lesson 6:Mastering any skill is usually a very long and unexciting process, but brings enormous confidence benefitsIn an article that I wrote about the benefits of learning a musical instrument (this is, after all, a guitar site!) I admitted that most of us today, me included, kind of shy away from rote-learning.

That’s probably putting it too mildly… Let me try again: Most of us today think that anything requiring mindless repetition and constant attention, in return for small (or no) short-term gains, is stupid and silly to the Nth degree.

We like things that are fun (and funny), thrilling, exciting, novel and engaging. It needs to come easy to us and produce near instantly visible results. We steer well clear of things that are demanding and repetitive.

If you can relate to any of this (I know I can), then you need to read the following quote by Julian Bream, a distinguished classical guitarist. Someone asked him, a few years ago, about his daily schedule. He replied: “I’m retired now so the practice is down to just 4 hours”. How long do you think the man practiced when he still had a job!

Pro-basketball players often practice hoop-shots for 6-8 hours a day, 5-6 days a week. Business leaders frequently spent countless hours each week working on small personal improvements for specific sales skills. Classical Instrumentalists (like Mr. Bream) are known for their almost obstinate ability to practice, practice, practice, until they become experts at a specific piece or technique. Want to be better than 80% of people on earth? That'll take you a few days. But to get better than 95% of people practicing that skill, will take decades. Getting to the top 1%? That’ll take a lifetime…

The standard academic answer as to how long it takes to become a ‘master’ at something is usually 10,000 hours. That means that if you, for example, practice your guitar for 2 hours each day, 7 days a week, you can consider yourself a guitar ‘master’ after approximately 13 years (so much for overnight fame). At that stage, you’ll likely be a better guitarist than 99% of the people you’ll ever meet in your lifetime.

During these 13 years you will rarely experience the thrill and excitement of instant gratification. This kind of training is a long term investment, and the real rewards show up later. The one thing that does grow from day one though, is your self-confidence. Knowing, after all, that you’re getting better at something than 99% of those around you, feels pretty cool.

Guitar Quotes Life Lesson 7:People will nearly always be open to your advice once you've listened, really listened, to them.There's this thing that I've been reading at different places on the Internet. It's a quote from the book/movie Fight Club and it plays out during a 'talking session' at the club when the members sat down to listen to each other (this was in between the brawling contests).

It then says that the guys seriously loved these times since others 'actually really listened to them, instead of just waiting for their turn to talk' (My paraphrase, but you get the idea).

Now it's probably not a shock to find out that for just about everyone on the planet this is still true today - we love being understood and we love being listened to. The clinch of this thing, is of course that it's impossible to have one without the other. There is no way you can really understand, and consequently influence others, without truly listening to them.

It has to do with word-economy: Choosing your words carefully, using them sparsely, and preceding them with a whole lot of REAL listening (without you formulating replies in your head - people can sense that). This is the concept that Larry Carlton nicely captures in his quote, like only a Jazz Musician could.

This idea was really brought home to me once when I read about the technique of a great scholar that I admired. He is long dead now but had an incredibly varied experience in life, meeting millions of people of every race, culture, social-class and intelligence. He had deep discussions with thousands of people, some of them quite famous. He was incredibly gifted, intelligent and well-read. He obviously had a lot to offer others and I always imagined meeting him would have consisted of me just being very quiet, thankfully absorbing his wisdom.

Yet, by his own admission, his meetings with people were very different. He said, in fact, that when he only had one hour with someone, he usually spent 55 minutes asking questions (i.e. getting to understand his new friend), so that he then had something of value to say during the last 5 minutes (Excuse me while I pick my jaw from the floor...). I think he and Larry Carlton would have agreed on the power of listening.

Guitar Quotes Life Lesson 8:Success in any area of life has almost nothing to do with luck, and almost everything to do with habits & disciplineIf this was a "Who don’t fit?" test, you would probably choose Mozart as your final answer. But would it have been because he's about 200 years older than the others, or because he's the most listened to artist of the lot (!).

We always tend to elevate prodigies and geniuses to the point where we secretly ascribe them superpowers. Surely legends such as Beethoven, Michelangelo and Mozart sat down and just kind of sighed, with a pained expression in their eyes, until the music and art started flowing, non-stop, straight from their golden fingertips into the Artistry Hall-of-Fame. Right?

See that's why I love this quote; reading it is like having a cold dose of reality dumped over your hot head. Mozart comes crashing down on our excuses when he essentially lays claim to nothing supernatural or extraordinaire (though he of course had a whole lot of talent), and admits to the fact that his most magnificent works are the product of inspiration AND perspiration.

That's important since it robs us of this idea that certain individuals are lucky. They have, we believe, incredible gifts, opportunities and karma, which the rest of us unlucky folks just don't have. When a musician in our times achieves fame, and cashes in on the accompanying riches, people usually attribute it to luck (I'm not talking about commercialized tape recorders here, but real artists who write their own music). "Boy, he sure got lucky" and "He was just at the right place at the right time" is how we rationalize it.

Mozart however, along with the majority of other successful musicians today, would say something else. These people, like most serious artists, are experts at handling rejection and humiliation. It is after all, all they’ve had thrown their way, for many years. During this process of trying and failing and trying and failing to succeed, going from audition to audition - they are honing their skills, sharpening their technique, refusing to give up until they break through, writing more and more songs until the day that they start having a big enough influence to quiet waitressing (around this time the naysayers start commenting on how lucky they got).

Gary Player was once a famous South African golfer who, back in his hey-day, was known for frequently hitting extraordinarily good shots from the golf tee. When a sports commentator once attributed it to luck, Mr. Player replied and admitted that he agreed, but also added that: "The more I practice, the luckier I seem to get."

Guitar Quotes Life Lesson 9:Pride is real ugly, real natural, and real dangerousI had a buddy who, during his college years, worked at the campus gym to help pay for tuition. He used to regularly chuckle at what he called the ‘groaners’. These were bodybuilders who would come hazardously close to rupturing a vein during every single exercise, and made sure everyone north of the Dumbbells knew about it.

They would groan, moan, sigh and spit, making a show of their weight-lifting efforts. But when then looked away, to their dismay, and observed some of the old timers, sitting quietly at their machines - you would also notice that these silent-but-violent strongmen had nearly half the room’s weights on their shoulders, as they quietly ‘repped’ away with immense strength. This proves the old adage that the quietest man in the room is usually the most dangerous. And just like Les Paul makes clear, the real professional has no need to broadcast his abilities - it’s obvious to everyone.

The reverse of that kind of attitude, of letting your actions speak for yourself, is called Pride. It’s when you use your words and actions to elevate your social standing. It’s not the same as the kind of pride you have for work performance, or the sunny smiles you can’t hide when your little boy gets great scores on a math test.

No I’m talking about a different beast: The more common and certainly more disliked form of pride that manifests in two ways: Either in arrogance - which is the chip-on-the-should kind of attitude someone displays when convinced that he/she is the sharpest tool in the shed. Or either in self-pity - which is the belief and feeling that you deserve something better than you got and consequently want everyone to know how cheated you feel.

You might think that these are two very different things, but the non-obvious truth is that they’re not! Both are kind of like branches on the same tree. Arrogance and Self-pity both grow out of the root of Pride, since Pride is nothing more than an intense self-focus and self-interest.

Pride is ugly for all of the self-explanatory reasons I used in the above examples: Nobody likes a selfish know-it-all. It’s also real natural because it’s common to the human experience. Finally, pride real dangerous because it can be so deceiving - bringing you to that place where all your shortcomings seem to magically dissapear. If not for everyone else, then at least for you!

Guitar Quotes Life Lesson 10:You can avoid an early death by finding a preferable picture of the future (that gets you excited), and starting to build towards itThis one is probably the least non-obvious of the lot: Having a dream, something to work towards, is hardly a novel idea. You’ve probably heard the word ‘vision’ many times before.

It’s one of those elusive buzzwords that employees, CEO’s, organizations and soft-drink companies like to use, to prove that they’re going somewhere. But with vision comes a mission statement, policy records, values declaration, terms of service etc. Things quickly get confusing and people are often left wondering exactly what the buzz is about?

Stevie Wonder once said that just because a man lacks the use of his eyes, doesn’t mean he lacks vision. That gets us close to the real meaning of having a vision or dream. The best definition I’ve heard, and one I continuously use to weight and judge my own plans, is this: “A Vision is a preferable picture of the future that gets you excited”. Don’t dismiss that last clause now! A vision is not a vision unless it activates some inner drive inside of you. In order to qualify, a vision has to resurrect some emotional beacon that’s been long dormant through over-exposure to Neon, Facebook and Mayonnaise.

A vision is something, a mere glimpse of the what-if future that sets off a small flicker of light inside of you. As you dwell on the dream, you realise it has the potential to ignite something stronger and set you on a path towards bettering your future (in whatever area your vision might be relevant).

Now that might sound a little melodramatic, but it really does work, and I’ve seen it work countless times, both in a negative and positive way. For the latter, it’s true that some people seem to be glued to a rocking chair in the hallway of the past. They are constantly rehashing old pains, revisiting old highlights and reliving old memories. The thing about these people is that they are frequently at a place where they have no preferable picture of their future. And exactly like U2 prophesied in the quote above, when the future dries up, we tend to glorify the past.

Now the good news: Nothing that was ever achieved was not first a thought or a dream. This is not some astrology technique or supernatural skill I’m referring to, it’s simply the power of the human imagination to (1) come up with something that activates inner excitement, (2) feed that excitement by exploring the thought and (3) starting to build towards it, in whatever way is practical and logical.

Let’s not forget that this process of ‘dreaming’ has immensely positive physical benefits. Nearly any doctor will admit to the medicinal power of vision (they might use a fancy Latin word like “psycho-somatic” but we’re all on the same page).

BONUS! Guitar Quotes Life Lesson 11:

"I've always wanted to smash a guitar over someone's head. You just can't do that with a piano." - Elton JohnMost hidden wisdom is found in the obvious! Everyone has at least one instrument-smashing frustrated artist in the family - steer clear!

I am not a big fan of obvious advice. My bathroom calendar is full of nice quotes about trying your best, chasing after your dreams, carpe diem, and (on September, close to grandma's birthday) something about living life to the full.

That stuff's great, which is why everyone prints it out, sticks it to the fridge and then spams it on Pinterest. Sometimes however, we need to dig a little deeper than the obvious. Sometimes, after we've shelved the Hallmark cards, we need to look at some of the non-obvious fact of life. And who better to teach us some of these, than ten of the world's best musicians? Well, nine actually (U2 is smart enough to feature twice).

So put on your thinking cap, strum along with these music & guitar quotes, and let's dig...

"My grandkids always beat me at Rock Band. And I say, "Listen, you may beat me at Rock Band, but I made the original records, so shut up." - Paul McCartney

"People have said to me, you can't write songs. You can't play an instrument. But I've got 10 gold records." - Bono

"When I was growing up, there were two things that were unpopular in my house... One was me, and the other was my guitar." - Bruce Springsteen

"We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out." - Decca Records

"I allow myself one nice car." - Slash

"I want to figure out how I can make the most important statement with the least amount of information, so I don’t run out of ideas by the time I get to my second or third chorus." - Larry Carlton

"Whatever you’ve learned becomes truly useful to you only once it has become second nature." - Guthrie Govan

"People make a mistake who think that my art has come easily to me. Nobody has devoted so much time and thought to composition as I. There is not a famous master whose music I have not studied over and over." - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

"If I have to go around telling everyone how great I am, then there's something wrong with my act." - Les Paul

"You glorify the past when the future dries up" - U2

"One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel less pain" - Bob Marley

"Imagination is the key to my lyrics; the rest is painted with a little science fiction." - Jimmy Hendrix

"To play without passion is inexcusable." - Ludwig van Beethoven

“The beautiful thing about learning is nobody can take it away from you.” - B.B. King

“I’m retired now so the practice is down to just 4 hours” - Julian Bream

“This machine kills fascists.” - Woody Guthrie

“Unless you're a true prodigy, you're going to have to practice for a while being bad before you get any good. And it will seem like a waste of time. I remember that feeling well. But don't worry about wasting time, because it'll be so worth it. It's my experience that in the end, life lessons and guitar lessons begin to blur in all sorts of interesting ways.” - Brad Paisley

"I wanted to make music that was so different that my mother could tell me from anyone else." - Les Paul

"Just because a man lacks the use of his eyes, doesn't mean he lacks vision." - Stevie Wonder

"We live in a post-authentic world. And today authenticity is a house of mirrors. It's all just what you're bringing when the lights go down." - Bruce Springsteen

"Pop music often tells you everything is ok. While rock music tells you everything is not okay, but you can do something about it." - Bono

"You can be a singer, and you can be a guitar player. But putting them together is another animal." - Gavin De Graw

"I never practice my guitar. From time to time I just open the case and throw in a piece of raw meat." - Wes Montgomery

“What's the difference between a classical guitar and a pizza? A pizza can feed a family of four.” - Faye Kellerman

“That's all I wanted to do as a kid. Play a guitar properly and jump around. But too many people got in the way.” - Syd Barrett

“Many were starting to use computerized synthesizers & drum machines to produce an entirely new style of music. It was being punted by the critics that the guitar was old hat; I was reminded of the way my father & his clarinets were written off in the late Fifties.” - Pete Townshend

"I believe every guitar player inherently has something unique about their playing. They just have to identify what makes them different and develop it." - Jimmy Page

"Love is a special word and I only say it when I mean it. You say the word too much and it becomes cheap." - Ray Charles

“I dedicated all the time I had to it. The 10 hour workout was just what I put in the magazine at the time, but for me it was every waking moment.” - Steve Vai

”Listening is the key to everything good in music.” - Pat Metheny

“Every July, August and part of September I escape of the guitar, I escape of Paco de Lucia and I go to Mexico to the Carrabin. I have a little house there where I spend two months listening to music, no playing because I don’t bring the guitar with me, fishing and cooking my fish and charging the batteries for new concerts.” - Paco De Lucia

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no-one can take it away from you." - B.B. King

"I've put up with more humiliation than I care to remember." - B.B. King

"The things that come to those that wait may be the things left by those that got there first." - Steven Tyler

"Those who dance are considered insane by those who can't hear the music." - George Carlin